When we started traveling and going abroad, we got in the habit of writing a post about what we were bringing with us. It proved to be an invaluable way to help us pack for the next time. So, here’s what we’re bringing with us for the next six months! All in all, Tommy is carrying about 40-50 lbs and Katie around 30-40. Our parents are meeting us in March and will bring us some new clothes, take off some of our cold weather clothing, and replace our reading material.
- 2 internal frame backpacks, 105/90 L capacity
- 2 booksacks
- 2 cotton towels
- money belts (passports, immunization certificates, credit/debit cards, international/us drivers license, international student id cards, health insurance, scuba diving license)
- nylon travel hammock
- Ipod + charger, all of our combined music libraries, podcasts (Advanced Spanish grammer, introductory Arabic), Polish for beginners course
- cell phone + charger, world SIM card
- rechargeable batteries (8), charger
- books (His: The Fate of Africa, Yugoslavia’s Bloody Collapse, The Haunted Land, In Spite of the Gods, Palestine and the Arab-Isreali Conflict, The Pol Pot Regime, Spanish verbs; Hers: A Short History of the World, A Guinea Pig’s History of Biology, The Selfish Gene, The Lying Stones of Marrakech, Colloquial Polish beginner’s course with book and CD’s on iPod)
- birding field guides (Princeton Field Guides: Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Birds of Europe, Birds of India, and Birds of Southeast Asia; Birds of Australia by Graham Pizzey and Roy Doyle)
- binoculars
- field bag
- 2 Moleskin notebooks and pens
- sketchpad, pencils, eraser
- converters, step down transformer, extension cord
- sunglasses
- handheld digital scale
- magnetic chess set
- Leatherman
- lighter
- bug spray
- toilet paper
- clothes line/retractable reel
- utensils in linen cloth
- locks (cable, padlock, three-wheel)
- lexan wineglasses and wine bottle opener
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- small pillows
- digital cameras + 2 2gb SD cards, 2 4gb flashdrives, pelican strongbox, manual, small tripod
- Repair Kit (zip ties, sewing kit, spare batteries, duct tape, electric tape, twist ties, zip lock/garbage bags, rubber bands, spare straps, connectors, paper clips, safety pins, shoe laces, pencil, marker, carabiner)
- First Aid kit (doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, malarone, acetazolamide, ibuprofen, immodium, benadryl, fibercon, melatonin, midol, fluconazole, zyrtec, tape, gloves, betadine, alcohol pads, band aids, ors powder, theraflu, activated charcoal, tweezers, eye drops, earplugs, neosporin, antibiotic drops, iodine tablets, gauze, space blanket, scalpels, needles, thermometer, vomit bags, cavi wipes, ace wrap, moleskin, hand warmers, handsanitizer, Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine)
- toiletries (standard stuff)
- document wallet (flight reservations, plane/rail tickets, insurance policy, dive charts, extra passport photos, passport xeroxes)
- compasses
His clothes:
- Socks (6 calf, 5 ankle length)
- Boxers (4 cotton, 3 under armour)
- pants (1 khaki, 1 jean, 1 NorthFace converter, 1 Hyvent rainpants, brown leather belt)
- beanie, gloves, nack gaiter, thermal underwear
- Marmot Radiator 300 wt Polartec fleece
- NorthFace Hyvent rainjacket
- undershirts (1 longsleeve cotton, 2 underarmours)
- shirts (3 longsleeve, 1 cotton polo, 1 coolmax polo)
- shorts (1 nylon, 1 cotton)
- rubber overshoes
- reef flipflops
- Lands End ankle hiking shoes
- pants (1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of Northface converters, rainpants, gym shorts)
- skirts (1 short, 1 long)
- shirts (4 short-sleeved cotton, 2 long-sleeved, 1 tank top, 1 underarmor)
- Marmot fleece with rainjacket
- light jacket
- hat
- gloves, neck gaiter, thermal leggings
- 7 pairs of underwear (4 cotton, 3 Ex-officio)
- 3 bras
- Reef flip flops
- Lowa hiking boots
- socks (4 ankle-length, 3 higher smartwool pairs)
Katie, you’re reading Dawkins? I picture a majority of the packs taken up with books.
Also, what about a universal power adapter? I’ve never had to deal with that.
Absolutely floored by the itinerary and packing list. I’m hoping to travel abroad for an extended period this summer and this is a pretty good start/end to my packing list. Though, I have to ask….where can I get some melatonin (not necessarily for first aid, but for those days when I need to stay awake for days on end…)?
Have fun guys and definitely try to keep us land lubbers updated!
Joey… yes. And yes, they would be, except we’re sending half the books over with our parents in March.
David… sounds great. You can get melatonin at any drugstore… but be careful… it helps you fall asleep.
I was searching for ‘antibiotic doxycycline’ at google and got this your post (‘The Packing List’) in search results. Not very relevant result, but still interesting to read